How To Academy Podcast

Revisiting one of our favourite episodes of last year, the Booker Prize winning author of Lincoln in the Bardo shares his idiosyncratic take on the human condition.George Saunders’ first new collection of stories in ten years is a powerful reminder of why he is widely considered to be the greatest short story writer in the English language. In Liberation Day, we meet the disillusioned employees of a Hell themed underground theme park, the artistic patrons of a dystopian near-future America, and brainwashed political protesters for hire. Mixing satirical fantasies with razor-sharp observations of human nature, Saunders’ new stories walk a fine line between comedy and pathos, realism and playfulness. He joins us on the podcast for a journey inside his creative process and dazzling imagination. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

How did the suburb of Palo Alto become the epicentre of a global tech revolution, changing not just American capitalism but the world?Malcolm Harris was raised in Palo Alto, the heartland of Silicon Valley, home of Stanford University, and the birthplace of the digital age. We live in the world created by The Palo Alto System - a set of 19th century ideas for innovation that have subtly shaped the way that business is still done in the Valley today. Malcolm's new book Palo Alto offers a critical history of the town and its hugely influential residents. Featuring robber barons, eugenics, murder, missiles, mining, and an infamous President, this is a startling look at the making of the contemporary world. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Our guest on this episode is Amy Shah, a physician who trained at Cornell, Columbia and Harvard. She specialises in nutrition and the mind-body connection that leads to hunger and cravings. Her new book on that subject is called I'm So Effing Hungry. She joined Hannah MacInnes earlier this year to tell us all about it. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In this podcast, philosopher Andy Clark discusses the Predictive Brain theory and the Extended Mind hypothesis. He explores topics such as the role of predictions in shaping reality and emotions, the power of talking to oneself, and the theory of mind as prediction machines. The podcast also touches on practical interventions for depression and the relationship between ideas and Russian psychology.

How can you make 'work' work for you? Christina Wallace is a millenial, an entrepreneur, a professor at Harvard Business School, and an expert in building a career that is both true to your values and interests and compatible with our age of constant disruption. It's the subject of her new book The Portfolio Life and of a livestreamed conversation we hosted with Christina in the spring, hosted by her friend and fellow entrepreneur DJ diDonna. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Colombo, 1990. Maali Almeida, war photographer, gambler and closet gay, has woken up dead in what seems like a celestial visa office. His dismembered body is sinking in the serene Beira lake and he has no idea who killed him.Fusing fury with comedy, mordant wit and disturbing truths, Shehan Karunatilaka’s wildly energic tour de force The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida has catapulted its author in the first order of world literature. He joins us to share the stories behind this extraordinary testimony to one of the darkest times in modern history. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Emma Gannon, a successful author and speaker, challenges the traditional notion of success. She redefines success, explores the myth of equating it with happiness, and discusses practical ways to prevent burnout. The podcast emphasizes finding one's own version of success, appreciating small joys, and defying societal expectations.

How To Academy is back at Wilderness Festival this August, where we will be hosting the journalist and author of Empireland Sathnam Sanghera on his new history of the British Empire aimed at younger readers: Stolen History. In anticipation we wanted to share our event from last year's Wilderness, this time with the scientist and author of groundbreaking books including The Selfish Gene and The God Delusion, Richard Dawkins. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Viorica Marian joins us to explore how crucial multilingualism is to human flourishing. Her new book, The Power of Language, distils her research to share how language shapes our self-conception, our decisions, and the society we create. From the politics that underlie whether we categorise a language as a “language” or a “dialect”, to the ways language has shaped our identities or been employed to discriminate, to how maths and poetry too can be understood as languages, this episode illuminates the unimaginable power of the languages we speak. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

What can we learn about the decline of the west from the fall of the Roman Empire? Was decline inevitable for Rome and is it inevitable for the US too? Historian Peter Heather is the co-author of Why Empires Fall, a new book exploring the parallels between the 5th century and the 21st. He joined Luke Naylor Perrott to explore what new lessons we can learn from ancient history. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices